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SONNET TO A CERTAIN POET by RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES

Poet Analysis

First Line: AT BEAUTY'S ALTAR FERVENT ACOLYTE
Last Line: WHERE WORDSWORTH STANDS, FEEDING THE MULTITUDES.
Subject(s): BEAUTY; POETRY & POETS; WORDSWORTH, WILLIAM (1770-1850);

AT Beauty's altar fervent acolyte,
And favored candidate for priestly name,
In object as in force adore aright
Nor waste one breath of thy rare gift of flame;
Nature, Artistic Form, Music, -- all these
Are shapes where partial Beauty deigns to lie,
And mediate, as with types and images,
Between frail hearts and perfect Deity.
From Thee a purer faith is due, -- to find
The Beauty of Life, -- the Melody of Mind, --
Which the true Poet's quest never eludes:
Speed Thou Philosophy's straight-onward flight,
Aiming thy wings at that serenest height,
Where Wordsworth stands, feeding the multitudes.



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